Method of Operating a Self Organizing Network and System Thereof

ABSTRACT

There is provided a method of operating a self-organizing network and system thereof. The method comprises processing data informative of network events with regard to the one or more access points and respectively served clients, thereby periodically associating the clients with the one or more access points; periodically assessing to each access point a value indicative of a privilege level of a given access point, the value being a function of priority values assigned to clients associated with the given access point during an assessing period; and using the assessed values for periodically identifying at least one access point requiring at least one corrective action in consideration of its privilege level. The method can further comprise periodically reassigning at least part of priority values to be used for assessing the values to the one or more access points, wherein reassigning comprises processing data periodically received by the SON system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The presently disclosed subject matter relates generally to systems andmethods of wireless communication and, particularly, to methods ofoperating self organizing networks and systems thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For today's complicated cellular networks Self Organising Network (SON)capabilities become essential in order to configure, organize, optimiseperformance and/or provide self-healing if/when faults occur. SONtechnology enables optimization of network performance and significantimprovements in terms of capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operationalexpenditure (OPEX).

The major aspects of SON operation are self configuration, selfoptimization and self-healing. Self configuration enables access points(e.g. base stations, Node Bs, sectors (e.g. macrocells, picocells andfemtocells), etc.) to become “Plug and Play” items. Once the system hasbeen set up, operational characteristics of access points (APs) can betuned, based on analyses of measurements data, thus enabling achievementof optimal network performance, coverage, and/or capacity byself-optimisation of the network. Self-optimization functions caninclude, for example, Load Balancing, Handover Optimization, Coverage &Capacity Optimization, Cell Outage Compensation, Energy SavingManagement, etc. These optimization functions can change the coverageand capacity of a cell and, possibly, of surrounding cells, byconfiguring parameters (e.g. transmission power for downlinktransmissions, antenna tilt, azimuth parameters, etc.) of the respectiveaccess point(s). Among the aspects addressed by the self-healingcapability are detection of cell degradation and respectiveself-recovery of software, self-healing of board faults, cell outagerecovery, and/or cell outage compensation, etc.

Typically, network optimization is as a process of improving the overallnetwork quality, comprising improving a Quality of Service (QoS)indicative of a network's ability to provide given services with assuredservice level and/or improving a Quality of Experience (QoE) indicativeof end users' level of satisfaction with given services. QoS can beevaluated with the help of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) derivedfrom data informative of network events and QoE can be evaluated withthe help of Key Quality Indicators (KQIs) derived from data informativeuser-related events (optionally, the same data can be informative ofboth user related and network events). KPIs can characterize QoS of anentire network or parts thereof (e.g. one or more given access points ora group of access points, the group matching certain criteria, etc.).KQI can characterize QoE of one or more selected users, a user's segmentmatching certain criteria, etc.

Problems of operating self-organizing networks have been recognized inthe conventional art and various techniques have been developed toprovide solutions. For example:

US Patent Application No. 2007/280123 (Atkins, et al.) discloses atechnique for testing, troubleshooting and evaluation of a mobile phonenetwork. A method of processing network data includes a plurality ofsession related parameters. The method comprises inputting one or morequeries, a query defining a statistic relating to said parameters and tobe computed from said network data, formatting a query to define saidstatistic in terms of one or more intermediate statistics from whichsaid statistic is computable, operating with said formatted query todetermine said one or more intermediate statistics, and storing these ina data store for analysis, preferably indexed by said parameters.Entries for the parameters can be stored at time positions in a datapipe.

US Patent Application No. 2011/090820A (Hussein et al.) discloses atechnique of optimizing a plurality of cell sites or sectors in awireless network including receiving network data regarding a pluralityof cell sites or sectors; determining a critical zone in whichcommunication is degraded; determining best neighbor cell sites orsectors among the neighbor cell sites or sectors associated with thecritical cell sites or sectors; determining if the critical cell sitesor sectors in the critical zone have available resources for achieving adesired improvement in communications; determining if the best neighborcell sites or sectors have available resources for achieving the desiredimprovement in communications; and altering wireless network parametersof the critical cell sites or sectors, or the best neighbor cells sitesor sectors for achieving the desired improvement in communications.Altering wireless network parameters of the critical cell sites orsectors, or the best neighbor cell sites or sectors is performedcontinuously until the desired improvement in communications in thewireless network is achieved.

US Patent Application No. 2011/128890 (Schein et al.) discloses atechnique of facilitating self-configuration and self-optimization ofradio networks. An internal topology discovery is performed to assesscharacteristics of a plurality of access points within an internalnetwork. An external cell discovery can also be performed to identifyone or more access points operating within an external network. Based onthe assessments obtained through the internal and/or external topologydiscovery processes, operational parameters are assigned to each accesspoint within the internal network. Such operational parameters caninclude a transmit power associated with each radio node.

US Patent Application No. 2011/252123 (Sridhar et al.) discloses a selfoptimizing network wherein a policy and charging rules function (PCRF)includes an input port, a processor, and an output port. The input portreceives near-real-time network state data. The processor makesoptimization decisions based upon the near-real-time network state data.The processor also produces policy enforcement messages based upon theoptimization decisions. The PCRF transmits the policy enforcementmessage via the output port.

US Patent Application No. 2011/136478 (Trigui) discloses a method ofmodifying communication parameters of a wireless network, the wirelessnetwork having, at least two antennas, and each of the antennasproviding coverage to at least one sector. The method includes obtainingmeasurement data for at least two sectors of the wireless network,determining, from the obtained measurement data, if a signal strengthindicator of one or more sectors of the at least two sectors is at orbelow a target value, determining, if the one or more sectors is at orbelow the target value, a communication parameter to be applied to thewireless network such that the signal strength indicator of the one ormore sectors is above the target value, and modifying the communicationparameters of the wireless network such that the determinedcommunication parameter is applied to the wireless network.

US Patent Application No. 2012/142347 (Morad et al.) discloses a systemfor obtaining information relating to an idle mobile station in acellular network. The system includes a computing platform which is incommunication with a radio network controller of the cellular network.The computing platform is configured for (i) generating and sending aninput signal through the radio network controller to the radio accessnetwork; and (ii) identifying in data outputted by the radio networkcontroller an output signal resulting from the input signal, the outputsignal including information relating to at least one idle mobilestation.

US Patent Application No. 2013/242720 (Chou) discloses a networkmanagement device and a method for coordination of self-optimizationfunctions in a wireless network. A network management device forcoordination of self-optimization functions includes one or moreprocessors and an interface. The interface communicates with a pluralityof enhanced node Bs (eNodeBs). The interface is arranged to receive arequest to change a coverage or a capacity of an enhanced node B(eNodeB). The interface is further arranged to transmit a query to theeNodeB to obtain a self-optimizing network (SON) coordination state ofthe eNodeB. The one or more processors are arranged to determine whetherto grant or deny the request based on a coordination policy and the SONcoordination state.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter, there is provided a method of operating aself-organizing network comprising a plurality of access points servinga plurality of clients. The method performed by a computerized systemcapable of periodically obtaining data informative of network eventswith regard to access points among the plurality of access points and torespectively served clients, data informative of priority valuesassigned to clients among the plurality of clients and data informativeof quality with regard to the access points and/or to the clients. Themethod comprises: processing data informative of network events withregard to access points among the plurality of access points and torespectively served clients, thereby periodically associating theclients with the access points; periodically assessing to each of one ormore access points among the plurality of access points a valueindicative of a privilege level of a given access point, the value beinga function of priority values assigned to clients associated with thegiven access point during an assessing period; and using the assessedvalues for periodically identifying at least one access point requiringat least one corrective action in consideration of its privilege level.

Identifying the at least one access point requiring at least onecorrective action can be provided in accordance with non-conformitybetween QoS/QoE scores predefined as corresponding to privilege levelsindicative by values assessed to the one or more access points andQoS/QoE scores calculated for the respective access points.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, the method can further comprise: periodically identifying, toeach of the one or more access points among the plurality of accesspoints, clients with assigned priority values matching a prioritycriteria, thus giving rise to priority-matching clients; periodicallyidentifying quality informative data related to the priority-matchingclients; and using the identified quality informative data whenperiodically assessing values to respective access points, wherein eachgiven assessed value being further a function of quality informativedata related to priority-matching clients.

The identified quality informative data can be used for calculating foreach of the one or more access points among the plurality of accesspoints privileged QoS/QoE scores, thereby enabling dynamic monitoring ofQoS/QOE of the one or more access points in consideration of priorityvalues of the clients associated with respective access points duringthe assessing period.

Identifying the at least one access point requiring at least onecorrective action can be provided in accordance with non-conformitybetween privileged QoS/QoE scores predefined to the one or more accesspoints and privileged QoS/QoE scores calculated for the respectiveaccess points using the identified quality informative data.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, at least part of the priority values can be obtained from a listof privileged clients, each client characterized by a pre-assignedpriority value, the list received by the computerized system. prior toassessing. Alternatively or additionally, at least part of priorityvalues to be used for assessing the values to the access points, can beperiodically reassigned, wherein reassigning can be provided by thecomputerized system and can comprise processing data periodicallyreceived by the computerized system, the data selected from a groupconstituted by data informative of network events, billing-related dataand usage-related data. Alternatively or additionally, reassigning canbe provided by the computerized system using dissatisfaction-relateddata at least partly derived from data informative of network events,wherein a value assessed to a given access point can be furtherindicative of dissatisfaction of clients associated with respectiveaccess point during the assessing period.

The value assessed to the at least one identified access point requiringat least one corrective action can be periodically used for identifyingat least one desirable corrective action, thereby enabling correctiveactions in consideration of priority values of associated clients.

Associating the clients with the access points can further compriselocating the clients within the access points, and wherein the at leastone desirable corrective action can be identified in furtherconsideration of locations of the clients associated with the at leastone identified access point requiring at least one corrective action.

In accordance with other aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a computerized system configured to operate ina self-organizing network comprising a plurality of access pointsserving a plurality of clients. The system comprises a processoroperatively connected to a first interface configured to periodicallyobtain data informative of network events with regard to access pointsamong the plurality of access points and to respectively served clientsand to a second interface configured to periodically receiveclient-related data informative, at least, of priority values assignedto clients among the plurality of clients. The processor is configured:to process data informative of network events with regard to accesspoints among the plurality of access points and to respectively servedclients, thereby to periodically associate the clients with the accesspoints; to periodically assess to each of one or more access pointsamong the plurality of access points a value indicative of a privilegelevel of a given access point, the value being a function of priorityvalues assigned to clients associated with the given access point duringan assessing period; and to use the assessed values for periodicallyidentifying at least one access point requiring at least one correctiveaction in consideration of its privilege level.

The second interface can be configured to receive a list of privilegedclients, each client characterized by a pre-assigned priority value, andthe processor can be configured to obtain at least part of the priorityvalues from the list.

The processor can be further configured to periodically reassign atleast part of priority values to be used for assessing the values to theaccess points, and wherein reassignment comprises processing dataperiodically received via the first and/or the second interface, thedata selected from a group constituted by data informative of networkevents, billing-related data and usage-related data. Alternatively oradditionally, the processor can be configured to periodically reassignat least part of priority values to be used for assessing the values tothe access points, wherein reassignment can be provided by usingdissatisfaction-related data at least partly derived by the processorfrom data informative of network events, and wherein a value assessed toa given access point can be further indicative of dissatisfaction ofclients associated with respective access point during the assessingperiod.

In accordance with other aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a method of operating a self-organizingnetwork comprising a plurality of access points serving a plurality ofclients. The method is performed by a computerized system and comprises:upon obtaining data indicative of privileged clients among the pluralityof clients, tracking data informative of network events with regard tothe privileged clients; processing data informative of network eventswith regard to the privileged clients, thereby periodically associatingthe privileged clients with the access points and periodicallyidentifying one or more privileged access points; tracking qualityinformative data with regard to the privileged access points andperiodically assessing to each of one or more privileged access pointsamong the plurality of access points a value being a function ofpriority values assigned to clients associated with the respectiveaccess point during an assessing period and quality informative datarelated to privileged clients associated with the given privilegedaccess point during the assessing period; and using the assessed valuesfor periodically identifying at least one privileged access pointrequiring at least one corrective action.

The method can further comprise periodically using the values assessedto the at least one identified privileged access point requiring atleast one corrective action for identifying at least one desirablecorrective action, thereby enabling corrective actions in considerationof priority values of associated clients.

Identifying the at least one privileged access point requiring at leastone corrective action can be provided in accordance with non-conformitybetween predefined QoS/QoE scores corresponding to the one or moreprivileged access points and QoS/QoE scores calculated for therespective privileged access points using quality informative data.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, at least part of data indicative of privileged clients andpriority values thereof can be obtained from a list of privilegedclients, each client characterized by a pre-assigned priority value, thelist received by the computerized system prior to assessing.

The method can further comprise periodically updating data indicative ofprivileged clients among the plurality of clients, wherein updating canbe provided by the computerized system and can comprise processing dataperiodically received by the computerized system, the data selected froma group constituted by data informative of network events,billing-related data and usage-related data.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, at least part of priority values to be used for assessing thevalues to the access points, can be periodically reassigned, whereinreassigning can be provided by the computerized system and can compriseprocessing data periodically received by the computerized system, thedata selected from a group constituted by data informative of networkevents, billing-related data and usage-related data. Alternatively oradditionally, reassigning can be provided by the computerized systemusing dissatisfaction-related data at least partly derived from datainformative of network events, wherein a value assessed to a givenaccess point can be further indicative of dissatisfaction of clientsassociated with respective access point during the assessing period.

Optionally, all access points associated during a processing period withthe privileged clients are identified as the privileged access points.Alternatively, periodically identifying one or more privileged accesspoints can comprise selecting, among access points associated with theprivileged clients during a processing period, one or more access pointsmatching predefined selection criteria. Alternatively or additionally,periodically identifying one or more privileged access points cancomprise selecting, among access points statistically associated withthe privileged clients, one or more access points matching predefinedselection criteria, wherein statistical association between accesspoints and privileged clients can be periodically updated.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, the method can further comprise: periodically identifying, toeach of the one or more privileged access points, clients with assignedpriority values matching a priority criteria, thus giving rise topriority-matching clients; identifying quality informative data relatedto the priority-matching clients; and using the identified qualityinformative data when periodically assessing values to respective accesspoints, wherein each given assessed value being further a function ofquality informative data related to priority-matching clients.Optionally, all privileged clients can match the priority criteria.

The method can further comprise using the identified quality informativedata for calculating, for each of the one or more privileged accesspoints, privileged QoS/QoE scores, thereby enabling dynamic monitoringof QoS/QOE of the one or more privileged access points in considerationof priority values of the clients associated with respective privilegedaccess points during the assessing period.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, identifying the at least one privileged access point requiringat least one corrective action can provided in accordance withnon-conformity between privileged QoS/QoE scores predefined to the oneor more privileged access points and privileged QoS/QoE scorescalculated for the respective privileged access points using theidentified quality informative data.

In accordance with further aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, associating the clients with the privileged access points canfurther comprise locating the clients within the privileged accesspoints, and wherein the at least one desirable corrective action can beidentified in further consideration of locations of the clientsassociated with the at least one identified privileged access pointrequiring at least one corrective action.

In accordance with other aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided a computerized system configured to operate ina self-organizing network comprising a plurality of access pointsserving a plurality of clients. The system comprises a processoroperatively connected to a first interface configured to periodicallyobtain data informative of network events with regard to access pointsamong the plurality of access points and to respectively served clientsand to a second interface configured to periodically receiveclient-related data informative, at least, of priority values assignedto clients among the plurality of clients. The processor is configured:upon obtaining data indicative of privileged clients among the pluralityof clients, to track data informative of network events with regard tothe privileged clients; to process data informative of network eventswith regard to the privileged clients, thereby periodically associatingthe privileged clients with the access points and periodicallyidentifying one or more privileged access points; to track qualityinformative data with regard to the privileged access points andperiodically assess to each of one or more privileged access pointsamong the plurality of access points a value being a function ofpriority values assigned to clients associated with the respectiveaccess point during an assessing period and quality informative datarelated to privileged clients associated with the given privilegedaccess point during the assessing period; and to use the assessed valuesfor periodically identifying at least one privileged access pointrequiring at least one corrective action.

Among advantages of certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter is capability of near real time network self-adaptationand prioritizing services according to an operator's business needs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carriedout in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way ofnon-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a generalized network environment including a SONsystem configured in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 2 illustrates a generalized flow chart of operating a SelfOrganizing Network in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3 illustrates a generalized flow chart of amending assignedpriority values in accordance with dissatisfaction value of the clientsin the network in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentlydisclosed subject matter;

FIG. 4 illustrates a generalized flow chart of exemplified operation ofa Self Organizing Network in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a generalized functional diagram of the SON system inaccordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosed subjectmatter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that thepresently disclosed subject matter may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures,components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not toobscure the presently disclosed subject matter.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specificationdiscussions utilizing terms such as “processing”, “computing”,“calculating”, “determining”, “generating”, “identifying”, “selecting”or the like, refer to the action(s) and/or process(es) of a computerthat manipulate and/or transform data into other data, said datarepresented as physical, such as electronic, quantities and/or said datarepresenting the physical objects. The term “computer” should beexpansively construed to cover any kind of electronic device with dataprocessing capabilities including, by way of non-limiting example, a SONsystem disclosed in the present application.

It is to be understood that the term “non-transitory” is used herein toexclude transitory, propagating signals, but to include, otherwise, anyvolatile or non-volatile computer memory technology suitable to thepresently disclosed subject matter.

The operations in accordance with the teachings herein may be performedby a computer specially constructed for the desired purposes or by ageneral-purpose computer specially configured for the desired purpose bya computer program stored in a computer readable storage medium.

The references cited in the Background teach many principles of SONoperation that may be applicable to the presently disclosed subjectmatter. Therefore the full contents of these publications areincorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriateteachings of additional or alternative details, features and/ortechnical background.

Embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter are not describedwith reference to any particular programming language. It will beappreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used toimplement the teachings of the presently disclosed subject matter asdescribed herein.

Bearing this in mind, attention is drawn to FIG. 1 illustrating anon-limiting example of a schematic network environment including a SONsystem configured in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a SONsystem (101) is operatively connected to one or more OSS (Operation andSupport System) servers and/or to Radio Network Controller(s) (RNC)and/or Mobile Management Entities (MME) provided by one or more vendors.Unless specifically stated otherwise, any depository of network-relateddata (e.g. OSS, RNC, etc.) is referred to hereinafter as a network data(ND) depository (102).

The SON system is further operatively connected (by direct connection orthrough a mediation layer as, for example, OSS server) to access points(103) of the cellular network. The SON system can be configured toprovide, directly, or indirectly, corrective actions (e.g.self-configuring, self-optimizing and/or self-healing, etc.) with regardto one or more access points.

The SON system is configured to obtain from one or more network data(ND) depositories data informative of events registered in the NDdepositories. Typically, the SON system periodically receives (in pushand/or pull mode) log records collected at the one or more NDdepositories during a certain period of time P_(ND) (e.g. time specifiedas minimal collection time for a certain ND depository, etc.) andaccommodates the obtained records and/or derivatives thereof in a memory(104). Likewise, the SON system can periodically receive from NDdepositories (e.g. from OSS) KPIs, KQIs or other quality related dataderived from the log records. Alternatively or additionally, the SONsystem can derive KPIs, KQIs and/or other quality related data directlyfrom the obtained log records.

Each registered event is associated with one or more records, By way ofnon-limiting example, an event can be associated with a single record(e.g. propagation delay (PD) record) comprising respective timestamp(TS), IDs of cellular device (IMSI) and ID of respective access point(CELL_ID)). By way of another non-limiting example, an event (e.g. RRCmeasurement) can be associated with a group of records characterized bythe same IMSI and TS and concurrently obtained for different accesspoints (i.e. comprising different CELL_IDs). Each such record cancomprise signal strength (RSCP), ratio of signal to noise (EcNo),FrameOffset/ChipOffset and, optionally, others fields. The log recordsare characterized at least by identification information (e.g. IDs ofcellular device (IMSI) and access point (CELL_ID), time-indicativeinformation (e.g. timestamp (TS) and/or FrameOfSet/ChipOfSet) and atleast one parameter out of a set of parameters characterizing networkperformance (e.g. propagation delay, RSCP, etc.

The SON system is further configured to obtain (e.g. from OSS and orPlanning Tool (not shown)) network configuration information (e.g.obtaining for a given Cell_ID longitude/latitude, azimuth, antenna typeand parameters like pattern, power, etc.) and, optionally, deviceinformation (e.g. obtaining for a given IMSI manufacturer, model,version etc.).

The SON system (101) can be further operatively connected to a CustomerService Management (CRM) node (106) and/or Policy and Charging RulesFunction (PCRF) node (107) and/or a billing system (108) and/or otherclient-related system.

The SON system is configured to obtain client-related data from one ormore such client-related systems. Alternatively or additionally, the SONsystem can obtain client-related data directly from a network operator.Client-related data can be informative of priority values assigned tocertain clients and/or client groups, a list of privileged clients,quality guaranteed for certain clients, etc. SON system can beconfigured to receive (in push and/or pull mode) client-related dataperiodically and/or responsive to predefined events.

The SON system further comprises a processor (105) operatively coupledto the memory (104) and configured to enable operations as detailed withreference to FIGS. 2-4. Optionally, the SON system can further comprisea memory (109) operatively connected to the memory (104) and processor(105). Optionally, the memory (104) can accommodate network-relateddata, client-related data and/or derivatives thereof received during ashort-term period (e.g. last hour, last day, etc.), while the memory 109can be configured to accommodate data obtained from ND depositories,client-related system and, optionally, from other data sources includingBusiness Support System of mobile operator, data sources of 3^(rd)parties, etc.) during a long-term period. The processor (105) can befurther configured, inter alia, to process data accommodated in thememory 109. Optionally, the processor (105) can comprise severalprocessors including a processor dedicated for processing dataaccommodated in the memory (104) and another processor dedicated forprocessing data accommodated in the memory (109). Optionally, the SONsystem can be operatively connected to 3^(rd) party system accommodatingand processing big data related to the network and the clients.Accordingly, the SON system can be configured to receive derivatives ofbig data processing (e.g. client's profiles and/or priority values) andaccommodate them in the memory 109.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthe specification the terms “client-related data” and “network-relateddata” should be equivalently related to data accommodated in the memory(104) and to data accommodated in the memory (109).

The term “priority value assigned to a client” should be expansivelyconstrued to cover any kind of value indicative of the client's priorityamong other clients sharing QoS and/or QoE related privileges. The term“privileged client” should be expansively construed to cover any clientwith assigned priority value indicative that the client has higherpriority among at least part of other clients sharing QoS and/or QoErelated privileges.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthe specification the term “client” should be equivalently related to anetwork subscriber and/or to a device associated therewith.

The priority value can be pre-assigned to the client by a networkoperator in accordance with its identity (e.g. IMSI and/or subscribername).

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter and as will be further detailed with reference to FIGS.2-4, the SON system can be configured to process client-related and/ornetwork related data and dynamically derive the priority value to beassigned to the client. Accordingly, the SON system can be configured toassign priority values to clients with no pre-assigned priority valuesand/or can amend pre-assigned priority values.

Optionally, the SON system can be further configured to send to the oneor more client-related systems the data related to priority value to beassigned to the client and derived by the SON system.

Those versed in the art will readily appreciate that the teachings ofthe presently disclosed subject matter are not bound by the networkarchitecture illustrated in FIG. 1, equivalent and/or modifiedfunctionality can be consolidated or divided in another manner and canbe implemented in any appropriate combination of software, firmware andhardware. The SON system can be a standalone network entity, orintegrated, fully or partly, with other network entities.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a generalized flow chart ofoperating a Self Organizing Network in accordance with certainembodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter. The SON systemperiodically (e.g. with a period P_(ND) specified as minimal collectiontime for a certain ND depository) obtains (201) data informative ofnetwork events with regard to access points and clients. Such data canbe obtained by aggregating and periodically parsing data received fromthe one or more ND depositories (102). Optionally, ND depositories canbe provided by different vendors and aggregating can include processingthe obtained data into a common (or compatible) format whilst keepingall respective timestamps.

The SON system also obtains (202) data informative of priority valuesassigned to certain clients or groups thereof. Such data can be receivedfrom one or more client-related systems (e.g. CRM, PCRF, billing system,etc.) or directly from a network operator. Additionally oralternatively, priority values may be derived by the SON system from thereceived network related and/or client-related data (e.g. by processingcurrently received data and/or by processing data accommodated thereinduring a short-term period and/or a long-term period.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the currently presentedsubject matter, priority values can be assigned in accordance withclient's identities and/or in accordance with time and spaceconsiderations and/or in accordance with applications running on theclients, etc.

By way of non-limiting example of priority values assigned in accordancewith client's identity, the SON system can receive a list of privilegedclients (e.g. enterprise clients, youngsters, VIP clients, etc.) with apriority value pre-assigned to each of the privileged clients, andassign to the rest of the clients an equal priority value, such equalpriority value lower than the lowest priority value of the privilegedclient. Alternatively or additionally, the SON system can receivebilling-related information and assign (and/or amend) priority values tothe clients in accordance with respective billing information andpredefined rules (e.g. it can add clients from the top 10% of clientelequarterly billing to the list of privileged clients, can reduce priorityvalues of privileged clients from the bottom 10% of clientele quarterlybilling, etc). The SON system can further use billing, data,demographical data, usage patterns, and other client-related data forproviding differentiation in priority values of privileged clients withthe same priority value pre-assigned by a network operator.

Alternatively or additionally to assigning priority values in accordancewith client's identity, the SON system can be configured to assignpriority values in accordance with time and/or space. By way ofnon-limited example, priority values assigned to enterprise clients candiffer depending on a time of day (e.g. working hours), client'slocation (e.g. in a train or on a highway), client moving/staticclassification, indoor/outdoor classification, etc.

Likewise, the SON system can be configured to obtain data indicative ofapplications associated with the clients (e.g. applications currentlyrunning by a given client, applications with average usage over acertain period of time, by a given client, exceeding a predefinedthreshold, etc.), and assign priority values accordingly. For example,priority values can be increased for clients using streaming-basedapplications, or an application manufactured by a specific provider.

The SON system can be further configured to periodically amend theassigned priority values by processing data received from NDdepositories and informative of network events with regard to respectiveclients.

FIG. 3 illustrates a non-limiting example of amending assigned priorityvalues in accordance with dissatisfaction of the clients in the network.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter, the SON system uses the obtained data informative ofassigned priority values for associating (301) each given client (C)with a privileged group PG=PG(C) among pre-defined privilege groups, thegroup having a privilege group weight PGW=PGW(C). The weight is higherfor a group with a higher privilege. Clients with no assigned priorityvalues can be associated with a privilege group dedicated to suchclients and having the lowest weight. The SON system further obtains(302) data informative of a level of client dissatisfaction LD(C) duringa substantive period (e.g. week or month). The level can be calculatedby the SON system using pre-defined rules. By way of non-limitingexample, it can be calculated for each client as a function ofrespective client-related KPIs and/or KQIs (e.g. it can correspond to anumber of client-related KPIs non-matching a predefined criteria duringa predefined time), a function of a number of predefined events (e.g.denial or delay in service, call drops, etc.) which occurred during apredefined time, etc. Optionally, the respective KPIs/KQIs and/or eventscan be weighted so that more recent events have higher weights.

The SON system periodically (e.g. with period P=P_(ND)) assesses (303)for each privilege group a value indicative of estimated dissatisfactionlevel (EDL) of the group, and further assesses (304), for each givenclient, an updated priority value in accordance with the associatedprivilege group and EDL thereof.

By way of non-limiting example, expected dissatisfaction level EDL of aprivilege group can be calculated as:

EDL(PG)=ADS/PGW, where ADS is a current Average Dissatisfaction,ADS=(Σ_(k=1) ^(N) LD(Ck)*PGW(Ck))/N, where N is a number of clients inthe network.

An updated priority value of a given client is equal to previouslyassigned priority value if LD(C)≦EDL(PG(C)). If LD(C)>EDL(PG(C)), theupdated priority value of the given client shall be higher than thepreviously assigned priority value in accordance with the client'sdissatisfaction LD(C). For example, in such case the priority value canbe calculated as

${{PRIORITY}(C)} = {{{PGW}(C)}*{\left( {1 + \frac{{{LD}(C)} - {{EDL}\left( {{PG}(C)} \right)}}{{EDL}\left( {{PG}(C)} \right)}} \right).}}$

Thus, in accordance with certain embodiments of the currently presentedsubject matter, the SON system can periodically amend priority valuesassigned to the clients in accordance with pre-defined rules. The SONsystem can further report the amended priority values to other networkentities.

Referring back to FIG. 2, The SON system periodically processes the dataobtained from the ND depositories. Optionally, the periods of processingthe obtained data can be equal to the periods (P_(ND)) of obtaining datafrom ND depositories. The SON system can process merely data aggregatedfrom ND depositories during a last obtaining period or can process suchdata together with all or part of earlier obtained and aggregated data(and/or derivatives thereof). The processing of respective aggregateddata can be provided in order to periodically position (203) the clientswith regard to the access points. Positioning includes associating theclients with one or more access points and can further include locatingthe clients within the access points (e.g. defining respective positionas, for example, cell edge or cell center). Positioning of a givenclient can be provided by using log records obtained during therespective period (e.g. (P_(ND))), thus resulting in a list of accesspoints serving the given client during this period (optionally includinglocations of clients within the respective access points). Alternativelyor additionally, positioning of a given client can be provided bystatistical analysis of available log records (and/or derivativesthereof) informative of the given client. As a result of statisticalanalysis, the given client can be associated with one or more accesspoints most likely serving the client and characterized by most likelylocations within these access points. The likelihood can be furtheranalyzed with regard to day and week time and/or other client-relatedparameters. The obtained list of statistically associated access pointscan be further periodically updated. Optionally, the updating period canbe substantially longer than the period P_(ND) (e.g. the update can beprovided daily, weekly or monthly). Optionally, as further detailed withreference to FIG. 4, positioning can be provided merely for theprivileged clients.

The SON system further periodically (e.g. with periods equals to P_(ND))obtains (204) quality informative data with regard to the access pointsand/or clients. The quality informative data can be obtained byperiodically (e.g. with a period equal to P_(ND)) receiving such datadirectly from ND depositories (e.g. from performance management system(not shown)) and/or can be obtained by processing other data obtainedfrom ND depositories. Quality informative data can be related to theclients' QoE (e.g. individual KQIs) and/or QoS per given access pointsKPIs related to each given cell).

The SON system periodically assesses (205) values of access points(APVs) the obtained positioning; data and, optionally, qualityinformative data. APV can be indicative of a privilege level of a givenaccess point and can be assessed in accordance with predefined rules asa function of priority values of clients associated with a given accesspoint. The term “privilege level of an access point” should beexpansively construed to cover any kind of value indicative of theaccess point priority for corrective actions if/when such required.

By way of non-limiting example, APV indicative of a privilege level of agiven access point for a given assessing period P_(A) can be calculatedas APV=Σ_(i=1) ^(n)(PGi*Wi)*Ni, where N_(i) is the number of clientsassociated with a given access point and having a priority valuecorresponding to a privileged group PG_(i) weighed by a weight W_(i),and n is a number of predefined privilege groups. Σ_(i=1) ^(n) Ni isequal to the total number of privileged clients associated with thegiven access point during the given period P_(A). During the assessingperiod P_(A), a given client can be served by (and, accordingly, isassociated with) a plurality of access points, each access point at adifferent timeframe during the period P_(A). In such a case, the APVcalculation can include additional weighting indicative of proportionaltime served by the given access point. If a given client has beenstatistically associated with a plurality of access points, the APVfunction can include additional weight indicative of proportionallikelihood of serving the given client by the given access point.

If the priority values of the clients associated with the given accesspoint during the given period have been updated in accordance with theirdissatisfaction levels (e.g. in a manner detailed with reference to FIG.3), the privilege level assessed as above can be further informative ofrespective dissatisfaction.

Alternatively or additionally, APV can be indicative of “privileged” QoSand/or QoE of the given access point, i.e. QoS/QoE calculated inconsideration of priority values of the clients associated with thegiven access point during the given period P_(A). Accordingly, the SONsystem can be configured to identify quality informative data related to“priority-matching” clients, i.e. clients having priority valuesmatching a certain priority criteria (e.g. priority values correspondingto a predefined privilege group; priority values exceeding averagepriority values of clients associated with the given access point duringthe given period P_(A) by predefined percent; etc.). The SON system canbe further configured to calculate respective APV in accordance withpredefined rules as a function of quality informative data related forsuch “priority-matching” clients, APV can be calculated as a combinationof QoS and QoE scores of the access point calculated in consideration ofpriority values of the clients (such scores are referred to hereinafteras “privileged scores”). Typically, the services and respective KPIs andKQIs to be used for QoS and QoE score calculations are defined by anetwork operator.

By way of non-limiting example, a “privileged” QoS score can becalculated as a ratio between summarized individual KPIs of“priority-matching” clients and summarized individual KPIs of allclients associated with the given access point during the given periodP_(A), and a “privileged” QoE score can be calculated as a ratio betweensummarized individual KQIs of “priority-matching” clients and summarizedindividual KQIs of all clients associated with the given access pointduring the given period P_(A).

By way of another non-limiting example, a “privileged” QoS/QoE score canbe calculated as a ratio between summarized, for all clients associatedwith the given access point during the given period P_(A), individualKPIs/KQIs weighed by respective priority values, and summarizedun-weighed individual KPIs/KQIs of all these clients.

APV can be calculated separately for each period P_(A) (e.g. with aperiod P_(A)=P_(ND)). Alternatively, APV can be calculated statisticallyusing data aggregated during a period P>>P_(ND) and can be furtherperiodically (e.g. with a period P_(A)=P_(ND)) updated (optionally,recent values can be processed with higher weights). APV can be assessedas a combined value indicative of priority and quality aspects, or as aset of separate values, each one related to a respective aspect.

Optionally, APV can be assessed in further consideration with locationof access point (e.g. access points serving highway and railway traffic,certain events, VIP locations, etc.).

Alternatively or additionally to assessment of APV in consideration ofpriority values of the clients, the SON system can be configured toassess APV in consideration of applications served by a given accesspoint. For example, each type of application (e.g. streamingapplications, social networks, location-based applications, applicationby a specific manufacturer etc.) can be associated with a respectivepriority value, and APV of a given access point can be calculated inaccordance with priority of applications served by the given accesspoint during the period P_(A).

The SON system can further report (206) the calculated “privileged”QoS/QoE scores to one or more client-related systems (e.g. to CRM system106 or PCRF node 107), thereby enabling dynamic monitoring of QoS/QOE ofa given access point in consideration of priority values of the clientsassociated with the given access point during the given period P_(A).

Alternatively or additionally, the SON system can use the assessed APVsfor periodically identifying (207) access points requiring, inconsideration of priority values of the clients associated with thegiven access point during the given period P_(A), corrective actions. Byway of non-limiting example, such access points can be identified inaccordance with non-conformity between predefined QoS/QoE scorescorresponding to a privilege level indicative by APV of a given accesspoint and the respective calculated QoS/QoE scores. By way of anothernon-limiting example, such access points can be identified in accordancewith non-conformity between QoS/QoE scores predefined for a given accesspoint and “privileged” QoS/QoE scores calculated for the given accesspoint. The non-conformity can be defined as a statistical valuecalculated during a certain period of time P>>P_(ND), a current valuecalculated by merely using data obtained during P_(ND), a current valuecalculated by using positioning data obtained during P_(ND) andstatistic-based quality informative data, etc.

Optionally, in order to require corrective actions, the access pointshall meet additional criteria as, by way of non-limiting example, APVshall be indicative of privilege level exceeding a predefined threshold.

Further, the SON system can report (e.g. to PCRF node) (208) aboutidentified access points requiring corrective actions in considerationof priority values of associated clients.

Alternatively or additionally to reporting (208), the SON system cananalyze the APV of a given identified access point, identify (209), inconsideration of priority values of associated clients, one or morecorrective actions desirable with regard to appropriate manageableresources, and enable (210) such actions. The manageable resourcesinclude transmission power, baseband processing capacity, transmission(or backhaul) links to the access points, RNC (Radio Network Controller)resources, etc. The corrective actions can include load balancing,antenna optimization, small cell planning, etc., and can be providedusing any appropriate technique, some of them disclosed in thereferences cited in the background and incorporated thereto by referencein their entireties. As will be further detailed with reference to FIG.4, desirable corrective actions can be further identified inconsideration of the client's positioning within the access points.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated an exemplified embodiment ofSON operating as detailed with reference to FIG. 2, wherein the SONsystem is configured, inter cilia, to identify privileged access pointsand provide monitoring thereof. Upon obtaining (401) data indicative ofprivileged clients (e.g. a list of privileged clients with a priorityvalue assigned to each of the privileged clients), the SON system tracks(402) data informative of network events with regard to the privilegedclients. As was detailed with reference to FIG. 2, the list ofprivileged clients and/or respective priority values can be updated bythe SON system in accordance with received. network and/orclient-related information.

The SON system periodically processes data informative of network eventswith regard to the privileged clients in order to position theprivileged clients with regard to the access points, and therebyidentifies one or more access points associated with the privilegedclients. Positioning of a given privileged client can be provided byusing log records obtained during the processing period (e.g. (P_(ND))),thus resulting in a list of access points serving the given privilegedclient during this period. Alternatively or additionally, positioning ofa given client can be provided by statistical analysis of available logrecords (and/or derivatives thereof) informative of the given client. Asa result of statistical analyses, the given privileged client can beassociated with one or more access points most likely serving theclient.

The SON system further periodically identifies (403), among the accesspoints associated with the privileged clients, a plurality of privilegedaccess points. The selection can be provided among access points servingthe privileged clients during the processing period.

By way of non-limiting example, all access points associated during theprocessing period with the privileged clients can be selected as theprivileged access points. Alternatively, privileged access points can beselected if matching predefined selection criteria (e.g. minimal numberof privileged clients associated with a given access point during P_(ND)and/or during a period P>>P_(ND); minimal frequency of associating aminimal number of privileged clients with a given access point during aperiod P>>P_(ND), minimal total duration (and/or volume) of servingprivileged clients during P_(ND) and/or during a period P>>P_(ND),etc.).

Alternatively or additionally, selection can be provided among accesspoints statistically associated with the privileged clients and matchingpredefined selection criteria (and not necessarily serving theprivileged clients during a given processing period). Selection criteriacan further depend on statistical data derived from privileged clientsbehavior (e.g. day and/or week time). A list of statistically selectedprivileged access points can be periodically updated (e.g. daily, weeklyor monthly).

The SON system further tracks (404) quality informative data with regardto the privileged access points and/or privileged clients associatedwith the privileged access points. Quality informative data can berelated to the QoE (e.g. individual KQIs) and/or QoS per given accesspoints (e.g. KPIs related to each given access point).

The SON system periodically (e.g. with period P_(A)=P_(D)) assesses(405) values of the privileged access points (PAPVs). PAPV of a givenprivileged access point can be indicative of QoS and/or QoE of the givenprivileged access point. Alternatively or additionally, PAPV can beindicative of “privileged” QoS and/or QoE of the given privileged accesspoint, i.e. QoS/QoE calculated in consideration of priority values ofthe privileged clients associated with the given access point during thegiven period P_(A).

Alternatively or additionally. PAPV assessed to a given privilegedaccess point can be indicative of a privilege level of the givenprivileged access point which can depend on a number of privilegedclients associated with the privileged access point during the assessingperiod (and on their priority values in case the values differ fordifferent privileged clients). Optionally, PAPV can be assessed infurther consideration with location of a given access point (e.g. accesspoints serving highway and railway traffic, certain events, VIPlocations, etc.).

Alternatively or additionally, PAPV assessed to a given privilegedaccess point can be indicative of priority of applications served by thegiven access point during the period P_(A).

By way of non-limiting example, PAPV can be calculated in a .mannerdetailed with reference to FIG. 2.

By way of another non-limiting example, PAPV can be indicative ofpriority value and dissatisfaction value of the clients associated withthe given privileged access point during a given period. Such PAPV canbe assessed in a manner similar to detailed above with reference to FIG.3.

The SON system further uses, in a manner similar to that detailed withreference to FIG. 2, the assessed PAPV values for reporting (406) theQoS/QoE score (and/or privileged QoS/QoE score) periodically calculatedfor the privileged access points, identifying (407) and reporting (408)privileged access points requiring corrective actions. Upon identifyingprivileged access points requiring corrective actions, the SON systemidentifies (409) desirable corrective actions and enables them (410).Corrective actions can be related to the privileged access points and,optionally, to the access points neighbouring the privileged accesspoints. Corrective actions can be identified and enabled inconsideration of priority values of the clients associated with theprivileged access point and, optionally, in consideration of location ofprivileged clients within a given privileged access point.

By way of non-limiting example, if QoS and/or QoE scores of a givenprivileged access point are indicative of a poor quality of a voiceservice, while privileged QoS and/or QoE scores of the privilegedclients are indicative of satisfactory quality of the voice service, nocorrective actions are desirable. If privileged QoS and/or QoE scoresare indicative of poor quality of voice service provided to privilegedclients, whilst the privileged clients are located at the center of theserving area of the privileged access point, the desirable action can bedown-tilting antennas in neighboring access points to improve thesignal-to-interference ratio and, thereby, to improve quality of servicefor the privileged client.

By way of another non-limiting example, if privileged QoS and/or QoE areindicative of low throughput, the desirable corrective actions candepend on location of the privileged clients within the servingprivileged access point. If most of the privileged clients are locatedin the center of the serving privileged access point, the desirableaction is load balancing between the serving access point and theneighboring access points by, for example, affecting handover parametersor pilot power of privileged access point and neighboring access points,and thus shifting low value customers to neighboring cells. If most ofthe privileged clients are located at the edge of the serving privilegedaccess points (i.e. suffering from low throughput due to lack ofcapacity in the serving cell and neighboring cells), the desirablecorrective action is recommendation for installing a small cell.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a generalized functionaldiagram of the SON system in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter. The SON system (101) can beimplemented as a standalone platform or integrated, fully or partly,with other network entities (e.g. OSS, CRM, PCRF, etc.). The SON systemcomprises a processor (105) operatively coupled to a first interface(501) (e.g. a first port) and a second interface (502) (e.g. a secondport). The first interface (referred to hereinafter also as a networkinterface) is configured to receive from ND depositories datainformative of network events and to forward the received data and/orderivatives thereof to the processor 105 and/or memories 104 and/or 109operatively coupled to the processor. The second interface (referred tohereinafter also as a client interface) is configured to receiveclient-related data from one or more client-related systems, arid toforward the received data and/or derivatives thereof to the processor105 and/or to a memories 104 and/or 109. The processor 105 is configuredto provide necessary processing of the accommodated client and networkrelated data in accordance with operations detailed with reference toFIGS. 2-4.

The processor can comprise the following operatively coupled functionalmodules: parsing module 503, assessment module 504, rule-based enginemodule 505, report generator 506 and command generator 507. The parsingmodule 503 can be configured to process network-related dataaccommodated in the memory 104/109 in order to position the clients withregard to the access points, as well as to obtain quality informativedata with regard to the access points and clients. The parsing modulecan be further configured to provide clients' positioning and qualityinformative data to the assessment module 504. The assessment module 504can be configured to generate and/or update priority values assigned tothe clients, to identify privileged access points and to assess accesspoint values as detailed with reference to FIGS. 2-4. Rule-based engine505 is configured to use predefined rules for identifying privilegedaccess points requiring corrective actions and for identifying desirablecorrection actions. The report generator 506 is configured to generatereports e.g. informative of QoS/QoE scores received from the assessmentmodule 504, informative of access point requiring corrective actionsidentified by the rule-based engine module 505, etc.) to be sent to oneor more client-related systems via the client interface 502. The commandgenerator module 507 is configured to generate and send commands and/oralerts in accordance with desirable corrective actions identified by therule-based engine module 505.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentlydisclosed subject matter is not bound by the configuration of FIG. 5;equivalent and/or modified functionality can be consolidated or dividedin another manner and can be implemented in any appropriate combinationof software, firmware and hardware. Those skilled in the art will alsoreadily appreciate that the data repositories can be consolidated ordivided in other manner; databases can be shared with other systems orbe provided by other systems, including third party equipment.

It is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter isnot limited in its application to the details set forth in thedescription contained herein or illustrated in the drawings. Thepresently disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments andof being practiced and carried out in various ways.

It will also be understood that the presently disclosed subject matterfurther contemplates a non-transitory machine-readable memory tangiblyembodying a program of instructions executable by the machine forexecuting the method of the invention.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that variousmodifications and changes can be applied to the embodiments of theinvention as hereinbefore described without departing from its scope,defined in and by the appended claims.

1.-40. (canceled)
 41. A method of operating a self-organizing networkcomprising a plurality of access points serving a plurality of clients,the method performed by a computerized system capable of periodicallyobtaining data informative of network events with regard to one or moreaccess points among the plurality of access points and to respectivelyserved clients, data informative of priority values assigned to clientsamong the plurality of clients and data informative of quality withregard to the one or more access points and/or to the clients, themethod comprising: a. processing data informative of network events withregard to the one or more access points and to respectively servedclients, thereby periodically associating the clients with the one ormore access points; b. periodically assessing to each of the one or moreaccess points a value indicative of a privilege level of a given accesspoint, the value being a function of priority values assigned to clientsassociated with the given access point during an assessing period; andc. using the assessed values for periodically identifying at least oneaccess point requiring at least one corrective action in considerationof its privilege level.
 42. The method of claim 41 wherein identifyingthe at least one access point requiring at least one corrective actionis provided in accordance with non-conformity between QoS/QoE scorespredefined as corresponding to privilege levels indicative by valuesassessed to the one or more access points and QoS/QoE scores calculatedfor the respective access points.
 43. The method of claim 41, wherein atleast part of the priority values is obtained from a list of privilegedclients, each client characterized by a pre-assigned priority value, thelist received by the computerized system prior to assessing.
 44. Themethod of claim 41 further comprising periodically reassigning at leastpart of priority values to be used for assessing the values to the oneor more access points, wherein reassigning is provided by thecomputerized system and comprises processing data periodically receivedby the computerized system, the data selected from a group constitutedby data informative of network events, billing-related data andusage-related data.
 45. The method of claim 41 further comprisingperiodically reassigning at least part of priority values to be used forassessing the values to the one or more access points, whereinreassigning is provided by the computerized system usingdissatisfaction-related data at least partly derived from datainformative of network events, and wherein a value assessed to a givenaccess point is further indicative of dissatisfaction of clientsassociated with a respective access point during the assessing period.46. The method of claim 41 further comprising: periodically identifying,to each of the one or more access points, clients with assigned priorityvalues matching a priority criteria, thus giving rise topriority-matching clients; periodically identifying quality informativedata related to the priority-matching clients; and using the identifiedquality informative data when periodically assessing values torespective access points, wherein each given assessed value beingfurther a function of quality informative data related topriority-matching clients.
 47. The method of claim 46 further comprisingusing the identified quality informative data for calculating for eachof the one or more access points privileged QoS/QoE scores, therebyenabling dynamic monitoring of QoS/QOE of the one or more access pointsin consideration of priority values of the clients associated withrespective access points during the assessing period.
 48. The method ofclaim 46 further comprising periodically using the value assessed to theat least one identified access point requiring at least one correctiveaction for identifying at least one desirable corrective action, therebyenabling corrective actions in consideration of priority values ofassociated clients.
 49. The method of claim 48, wherein associating theclients with the one or more access points further comprises locatingthe clients within the access points, and wherein the at least onedesirable corrective action is identified in further consideration oflocations of the clients associated with the at least one identifiedaccess point requiring at least one corrective action.
 50. Acomputerized system configured to operate in a self-organizing networkcomprising a plurality of access points serving a plurality of clients,the system comprising a processor operatively connected to a firstinterface configured to periodically obtain data informative of networkevents with regard to one or more access points among the plurality ofaccess points and with regard to respectively served clients, andfurther connected to a second interface configured to periodicallyreceive client-related data informative, at least, of priority valuesassigned to clients among the plurality of clients, wherein theprocessor is configured: to process data informative of network eventswith regard to the one or more and to the respectively served clients,thereby to periodically associate the clients with the access points; toperiodically assess to each of the one or more access points a valueindicative of a privilege level of a given access point, the value beinga function of priority values assigned to clients associated with thegiven access point during an assessing period; and to use the assessedvalues for periodically identifying at least one access point requiringat least one corrective action in consideration of its privilege level.51. The system of claim 50, wherein the processor is configured toidentify the at least one access point requiring at least one correctiveaction in accordance with non-conformity between QoS/QoE scorespredefined as corresponding to privilege levels indicative by valuesassessed to the one or more access points and QoS/QoE scores calculatedfor the respective access points using respective quality informativedata.
 52. The system of claim 50, wherein the second interface isconfigured to receive a list of privileged clients, each clientcharacterized by a pre-assigned priority value, and the processor isconfigured to obtain at least part of the priority values from the list.53. The system of claim 50, wherein the processor is further configuredto periodically reassign at least part of priority values to be used forassessing the values to the one or more access points, and whereinreassignment comprises processing data periodically received via thefirst and/or the second interface, the data selected from a groupconstituted by data informative of network events, billing-related dataand usage-related data.
 54. The system of claim 50 further comprising amemory operatively coupled the first interface, to the second interfaceand to the processor, wherein the processor is further configured toprovide at least one of the following: a. periodically associate a givenclient with one or more access points using statistical analysis of datainformative of network events and aggregated in the memory duringprevious periods, and to periodically update the statistical resultsusing data informative of network events and received during a currentperiod; b. periodically assess values to respective access points usingstatistical analysis of data informative of network events andaggregated in the memory during previous assessing periods, and toperiodically update the statistical results using data informative ofnetwork events and received during a current period.
 55. The system ofclaim 50, wherein the processor is further configured to: a.periodically identify, to each of the one or more access points, clientswith assigned priority values matching a priority criteria, thus givingrise to priority-matching clients; b. periodically identify qualityinformative data related to the priority-matching clients; and c. usethe identified quality informative data when periodically assessingvalues to respective access points, wherein each given assessed valuebeing further a function of quality informative data related topriority-matching clients.
 56. A method of operating a self-organizingnetwork comprising a plurality of access points serving a plurality ofclients, the method performed by a computerized system and comprising:a. upon obtaining data indicative of privileged clients among theplurality of clients, tracking data informative of network events withregard to the privileged clients; b. processing data informative ofnetwork events with regard to the privileged clients, therebyperiodically associating the privileged clients with the access pointsand periodically identifying one or more privileged access points; c.tracking quality informative data with regard to the privileged accesspoints and periodically assessing to each of the one or more privilegedaccess points among the plurality of access points a value being afunction of priority values assigned to clients associated with therespective access point during an assessing period and qualityinformative data related to privileged clients associated with the givenprivileged access point during the assessing period; and d. using theassessed values for periodically identifying at least one privilegedaccess point requiring at least one corrective action.
 57. The method ofclaim 56 further comprising periodically using the values assessed tothe at least one identified privileged access point requiring at leastone corrective action for identifying at least one desirable correctiveaction, thereby enabling corrective actions in consideration of priorityvalues of associated clients.
 58. The method of claim 56 furthercomprising periodically updating data indicative of privileged clientsamong the plurality of clients, wherein updating is provided by thecomputerized system and comprises processing data periodically receivedby the computerized system, the data selected from a group constitutedby data informative of network events, billing-related data andusage-related data.
 59. The method of claim 56 further comprisingperiodically reassigning at least part of priority values to be used forassessing the values to the privileged access points, whereinreassigning is provided by the computerized system and comprisesprocessing data periodically received by the computerized system, thedata selected from a group constituted by data informative of networkevents, billing-related data and usage-related data.
 60. The method ofclaim 56 further comprising: a. periodically identifying, to each of theone or more privileged access points, clients with assigned priorityvalues matching a priority criteria, thus giving rise topriority-matching clients; b. identifying quality informative datarelated to the priority-matching clients; and c. using the identifiedquality informative data when periodically assessing values torespective access points, wherein each given assessed value beingfurther a function of quality informative data related topriority-matching clients.